AgMag BLOG

Forbes and Monsanto: A Match Made in H*ll

Clearly, the only criterion Forbes magazine uses when determining which U.S. corporation wins its yearly “Company of the Year” title must be profit. That’s the only way to explain how a company as notorious as Monsanto could possibly get the nod for 2009 from the mag, which proclaims itself “The Capitalist Tool.”

Too bad Bernie Madoff lost out.

The chemical behemoth, which is responsible for a laundry list of misdeeds that could land any of us behind bars, welcomed the award, of course.

Not only is this exciting for the 22,000 Monsanto employees worldwide, but it’s also exciting for everyone working in agriculture today.

Really? I don’t think “exciting” is the word those farmers whom Monsanto has targeted with lawsuits would choose, and I’m not sure the young children the company employed at its plants in India would pick it either.

Here are a few items about Forbes' top pick for '09 that we highlighted in an old Mulch post, before we put that old blog out to pasture:

According to a report by The Center for Food Safety, "The agribusiness giant has sued hundreds of farmers over GMO crops, and has been awarded more than$20 million from these farmers." The Center issued a detailed report, noting that, "Under financial duress, many farmers who have been accused of patent infringement based on insubstantial evidence have decided to settle out of court rather than face an expensive and lengthy lawsuit."